1889 Sioux CIty IA (Sioux Citys)

Left: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color based on a related uniform and on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Right: This rendering is based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of M Cline (89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be confirmed by fact that 1889 was the only year player was on team roster. Player wore a white or light-colored uniform with dark cap, belt and stockings. The shirt had buttons, not lace ties, and the pants had quilted padding at the knees and the hips. Detail view shows lettering across shirt. This lettering was very similar to that of the 1889 Kansas City uniform of the American Association. This may suggest both uniforms were made by the same manufacturer. Detail view also shows that player wore a shirt with untailored sleeves. Year Monk with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo B

Dated 1889. Cabinet photo of F Genins (89-91, 94). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be confirmed by studio background matching that shown in photo A. Player wore a white or light-colored uniform similar to that shown in photo A, however the area of quilted padding at the knees was less than that shown in photo A. Detail view shows subtle horizontal bands on cap, the hint of a shirt pocket, as what appears to be an elastic band on the sleeve above the elbow. Years Genins with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo C

Dated April 1889 to mid-July 1889. Old Judge baseball card of R Burks (Sioux City WA 89, St Joseph WA 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be confirmed by fact that 1889 was the only year player was on team roster. Date range of April 1889 to mid-July 1889 determined by fact that Burks was sold to the St. Jospeh, MO, team and played his first game for the new team on July 24, 1889. Player wore a uniform similar to that shown in photos A and B. However, it is possible the pants in this photo were a slightly darker shade when compared to the shirt. It can be speculated that the team had a white uniform for home games and a light-gray uniform for road games and that Burks wore the home shirt with the road pants in this photo. Note that Burks wore his collar up in this photo. Detail view shows padding on pants similar to that shown in photo A. Year Burks with team from baseball-reference.com. Burks transaction info from Chuck McGill. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo D

Dated April 1889 to mid-July 1889. Collage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view at right. Date of 1889 confirmed by appearance of players Crotty, Hungler, Hellmen Bradley and Burks, who only played for Sioux City this one year. Date range of April 1889 to mid-July 1889 determined by appearance of player Burks, who was sold to the St. Jospeh, MO, team and played his first game for the new team on July 24, 1889. Players wore a uniform that matched that shown in the photo sessions for the Old Judge baseball card series, see photos A thru C. Note that some uniforms in this collage had uneven letter spacing in the city name as the words crossed the shirt opening.

Clockwise from left: J Crotty (89), A Hungler (89), T Hellman (89), C Bowers? (89, 90), unidentified, J Powell (88-90), F Genins (89-91, 94), G Bradley (89), M Cline (89, 90), R Burks (SxC 89, StJ 89), E Glenn (89, 90) and T Brosnan (88-90). Center: (unidentified). Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Sioux City Journal, June 30, 1909. Image scan, image research and Burks transaction info from Chuck McGill.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1889: “The new suits of gray flannel with black trimming are expected this morning, and if they are received will be worn by the home club in today’s game.” From the Sioux City Journal, April 20, 1889. Research from Chuck McGill.

Team genealogy:
 Coming soon